Sunday, November 30, 2014

Help support the work I do here on Vintage Johnstown. Just put up a fresh batch of the Best of Vintage Johnstown Calendars on Ebay. Get yours before they are gone. I packed 34 color and black & white images of the glory days of Johnstown. CLICK HERE to be taken to the link to order yours thru Paypal.

Reader George Vuckovich sent in this shot from the '77 Flood. This is his uncles house beside the old Coe's Sub in Coopersdale - the house is still there - it's painted yellow now. He says there was a parking lot, then a bar and then this house. His parents - who survived in Tanneryville - lived in the parsonage at the church below the dam.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Help support the work I do here on Vintage Johnstown. Just put up a fresh batch of the Best of Vintage Johnstown Calendars on Ebay. Get yours before they are gone. I packed 34 color and black & white images of the glory days of Johnstown. CLICK HERE to be taken to the link to order yours thru Paypal.

I baked 2 pies & a custard and a pan of apples. Joan come and ate dinner with us. Then we got a ton of coal today. It come to $ 14. 20. I cleaned the stove this afternoon. Then cleaned the kitchen and scrubbed around on the out side where they put coal in.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Help support the work I do here on Vintage Johnstown. Just put up a fresh batch of the Best of Vintage Johnstown Calendars on Ebay. Get yours before they are gone. I packed 34 color and black & white images of the glory days of Johnstown. CLICK HERE to be taken to the link to order yours thru Paypal.

I took this Browns Farm in Lower Yoder - one of the earliest African-American settlements in this part of Western Pennsylvania. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the work ethic that was handed down to me from my parents and grandparents. My grandmother worked at Bestform till she was 80 and would have worked longer - but they closed the plant down before she was done working.

I believe in Johnstown with my whole heart and I don't say that lightly - given the fact that I am one of the millions that lost a good paying job this year. New company takes over and the old workers are tossed out the door. It happens everyday and I am hardly the exception. But I'm glad it happened - because now even though I am poorer - I am much happier and there is a lot to be said for the power of happiness. I have learned so much being on the other end of things trying to find a full-time job (I have a part-time job - but I need something more). There are people out there that can't fill out a job application because they don't know how to read, people who can't pass a simple drug test - let alone have the staying power to get up each day and show up for work. And don't get me started on the welfare folks who sit on their asses all day - collecting money from all of us.

Sure there are plenty of problems in this area - but we are facing nothing more here than other towns all across the nation. I hold no illusions about the past - even though I dearly love history. If you had a sheet of paper and drew a line down the middle - you could list all that is wrong with Johnstown - but on the other side - you could also list all that is right.

Our ancestors had one thing in common - whether rich or poor - the had enough 'human spirit' within themselves - that unknown and unseen force that kept them going and helped keep this city alive for decades. I believe that same 'spirit' still lives within those of us that still believe and love the city we call home. You can give me a thousand reasons why Johnstown is in the shape that it is in - I'm not stupid and nor blind to the facts. But you have to admit that there is indeed something very special about our area - that folks miss when they leave - something you can't put into words....

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

With some time on my hands...thought I'd take some pictures from around town today on a snowy afternoon - for all you readers in the warmer parts of the country who might miss the white stuff. I know I am tired of it already and it's only November. This is the old Sivi Barn on Goucher.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Help support the work I do here on Vintage Johnstown. Just put up a fresh batch of the Best of Vintage Johnstown Calendars on Ebay. Get yours before they are gone. I packed 34 color and black & white images of the glory days of Johnstown. CLICK HERE to be taken to the link to order yours thru Paypal.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Just put up a fresh batch of the Best of Vintage Johnstown Calendars on Ebay. Get yours before they are gone. I packed 34 color and black & white images of the glory days of Johnstown. CLICK HERE to be taken to the link to order yours thru Paypal.